Statistics 120A Intro to Probability & Statistics

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Professor David van Dyk. ICS bldg 1 room 346B Phone: 949-824-5679 e-mail: dvd@uci.edu Office Hours: Tu. 2:30-4:00   or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Fang Fang e-mail: ffang@ics.uci.edu Section 1: Wed 4:00 - 5:00 in ICF 101 Section 2: Fri 2:00 - 3:00 in ICF 101 Office Hours: Monday 11:50-12:50 in ICS bldg 2 room 144   Fridays 3:00-4:00 in ICS bldg 2 room 144   or by appointment Reader: Priya Govindarajan e-mail: pgovinda@ics.uci.edu Office Hours: Monday 9:30-10:00 in ICS bldg 1 room 346H   or by appointment

Objectives and Prerequisites

Lectures

Tuesday and Thursdays 11:00-12:20 in ICS 174

Sections

One-hour weekly section meetings will begin the second week of the quarter. A section time will be determined that is convenient for all interested students. All sections are open to all students and cover essentially the same material.

In addition to section meetings, each teaching assistant will have office hours at a time and location to be announced. You may visit any of the teaching assistants during his or her office hours. Of course, your own section leader will know you best and may best be able to help you.

Textbooks and References

Required Text: Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis, 2nd Edition by J. Rice, Duxbury Press. There are copies on reserve at the Science Library.

Other References:

An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and Its Applications, 2nd Edition by Larsen and Marx, Prentice Hall.
Statistical Inference, by G. Casella and R. Berger, Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole.
An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Vol. I by W. Feller, Wiley.

These books are at the Science Library and other libraries.

Syllabus

The following is an outline of lecture topics. The Handout topics.pdf gives details on the readings and homework problems associated with each topic.

Lecture 1 - 3 Lectures 4 - 6 Lectures 7 - 10 Lectures 11 - 13 Lectures 14 - 15 Lectures 16 - 17 Lectures 18

Basic Probability Discrete Probability Functions Based on Combinatorics Univariate Random Variables Multivariate Random Variables Linear Combinations of Random Variables Convergence Theorems and Inequalities Parameter Estimation

Exams

The exam and quiz dates are tentative; watch announcements for confirmation.

• First Quiz -- Tuesday, October 19, in class
• Midterm Exam -- Tuesday, November 2, in class
• Second Quiz -- Tuesday, November 23, in class
• Final Exam -- Tuesday, December 7, 10:30 - 12:30 p.m.

All exams will be closed book. You may, however, prepare a formula sheet for reference during the exams. A hand calculator is required for all exams.

Homework

Homework and other handouts will be distributed during lecture, some will be available to downloaded from the course homepage.

There will be weekly homework assignments that will due IN CLASS at the beginning of the Tuesday lecture , except when announced otherwise. The first assignment will be due on Tuesday, October 5.

Alternatively, you may turn in homework anytime before it is due in the ICS Distribution Center. Hours, location, and maps are posted at the website.

You may discuss homework problems with other students but should write them up independently. Please show your work.

THE OFFICIAL COURSE POLICY IS: NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.

In cases with extenuating circumstances your section leader may agree to accept late work. You should be aware that if your teaching assistant does not agree to accept and grade a late assignment then you will receive a grade of zero on that assignment.

In return for your timely submission of homework, we will make every effort to return graded homework and examinations promptly. This rapid feedback should help you be aware of any problems in your own understanding of the material.

Your lowest homework grade will be dropped when figuring your final quarter grade.

Grading

Course grades will be determined by these components, with approximate weights as shown:

Notices and E-mail

You should check your E-mail regularly for course notices. E-mail is also useful for communicating questions on course content or administrative issues.

The course e-mail is set up as a discussion list; this means that you can e-mail your fellow students and the teaching staff by e-mailing 37610-F04@classes.uci.edu. Please use this list appropriately:

• Student Help & How-to: How to Use Course E-mail
• Use of Course Mailing Lists falls under the UCI Computer and Network Use Policy.
• Inappropriate use of or abuse of this electronic service could result in the loss of network access and other penalties.
• Report inappropriate use or abuse to EEE immediately: Contact EEE